August 04, 2014

Second American Ebola patient to arrive in US for treatment in Atlanta

An American missionary infected with Ebola while responding to the outbreak in west Africa is expected to be flown to the US on Tuesday, following her colleague who arrived at Atlanta’s Emory University hospital over the weekend.

The son of Nancy Writebol, the humanitarian aid worker stricken with Ebola, told a local news channel that his mother is “weak but fighting”.

Jeremy Writebol told NBC’s Charlotte affiliate, WCNC, that his mother is preparing for her trip to the US where she will join Dr Kent Brantly with whom she worked in Liberia. Brantly arrived in the US on Saturday.

Writebol’s son said he is hopeful that the attention around his mother’s infection “might help develop a cure and resources to help those who are suffering”, the Associated Press reported.

The Ebola virus has killed at least 887 people across three west African countries, in which there have been more than 1,300 reported infections. A doctor in Nigeria also contracted the virus.

Amid the outbreak, dozens of African heads of state are arriving in Washington on Monday, the start of a three-day summit led by President Barack Obama. The leaders of Liberia and Sierra Leone – two of the three affected countries – have cancelled plans to attend in order to deal with the Ebola outbreak in their countries. Guinea’s president Alpha Condé is expected to attend.

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An American missionary infected with Ebola while responding to the outbreak in west Africa is expected to be flown to the US on Tuesday, following her colleague who arrived at Atlanta’s Emory University hospital over the weekend.

The son of Nancy Writebol, the humanitarian aid worker stricken with Ebola, told a local news channel that his mother is “weak but fighting”.

Jeremy Writebol told NBC’s Charlotte affiliate, WCNC, that his mother is preparing for her trip to the US where she will join Dr Kent Brantly with whom she worked in Liberia. Brantly arrived in the US on Saturday.

Writebol’s son said he is hopeful that the attention around his mother’s infection “might help develop a cure and resources to help those who are suffering”, the Associated Press reported.

The Ebola virus has killed at least 887 people across three west African countries, in which there have been more than 1,300 reported infections. A doctor in Nigeria also contracted the virus.

Amid the outbreak, dozens of African heads of state are arriving in Washington on Monday, the start of a three-day summit led by President Barack Obama. The leaders of Liberia and Sierra Leone – two of the three affected countries – have cancelled plans to attend in order to deal with the Ebola outbreak in their countries. Guinea’s president Alpha Condé is expected to attend.